I could understand it if we were just talking about dirt or grass air strips in the back end of nowhere but there are a number of sizable airports missing. Seems particularly bad in Asia. Tried to do a flight to Cheongju in South Korea earlier but it doesn’t exist in MSFS even though the airport was opened 24 years ago!!
Is there any particular reason that Asobo have given for stuff like this?
Most likely they have a military designation, which causes Bing to ‘blur’ those areas out. In that case Blackshark.AI can’t find anything there, so no airport is created
I would love to here the explanation for MPTO missing - Panama’s one and only major Int’l airport.
The only remote thing I can think of is Microsoft perhaps made a deal with a 3rd party to make MSFS customers have to buy it from them, but that is probably not true…one never knows anymore.
I’m keeping my community folder totally empty. I will not be buying any add-ons or installing any freeware until MSFS default matures (has all these missing airports included) a whole lot more. So any suggestions to me about any add-ons is totally out of the question for me.
I trust that MPTO will eventually arrive in default MSFS, but the wait for such a major airport baffles.
You talk like this has happened before.
There is no reason to bring up such speculation since nothing like that was ever the case.
They said they leave some airports in the “autogen” state instead of handcrafting them where they know that some third party is working on a proper implementation (which is totally fair, there are enough airports for everyone to build). But they would not omit the entire airport because of that.
There is a list of over 2,000 airports either completely missing or have inaccurate/non-existent runways. As a result, no one’s NavData, NavBlue or Navigraph, will work to display or route to those Field’s associated IAPs, SiDs and STARs.
Part of the challenge is that those airports are embedded in BGL files which contain multiple objects, including valid and non-valid airports. There has to be a structured way to break out and correct that data without impacting valid data existing.
It’s entirely possible some missing airports could be rendered. In fact, in some cases you can see clearly the outline of the airport superimposed on Bing Maps streaming terrain in the sim, but no Autogen objects such as runways/taxiways or facility buildings exist.
I’ve raised this through multiple channels. It will take a likely concerted effort on Asobo’s part to address it.
Also Bing should take some initiative as well, a lot of these areas are clear on google maps.
The BGL files are likely all Asobo’s side at this point. Bing Maps would be responsible for clear aerials, but Blackshark needs to understand that’s an airport to deliver the autogen. That’s a sim side task I would think.
I’m waiting for your explanation for MPTO airport totally missing.
I would also like to hear your thoughts on Orbx London being released not very long before the UK SU - then the MSFS team says to remove the Orbx add-on to avoid problems. What about those who paid for the add-on? Really fair huh?
While we are at it I would like to hear your thoughts in FSX/P3D about Orbx saying that certain airport add-ons required region add-ons to be purchased for the airports to be installed - then we all find out months later that this was not true.
How about having to buy P3Dv5 to FINALLY get some standard major airports w/o having to buy add-ons.
Non existing MS Flight cockpits; how could this be a good concept and why would anyone have to pay for such a regression…ugh!
You need to realize I know what has happened before. Yes one never knows what will be next, I wont be fooled, but many do get fooled and its not right.
When you say its “totally fair” to leave out some airports, that is a false and wrong statement. MPTO has been in MS flight sims for like 20 years then suddenly no?? To be perfectly clear, MSFS MPTO airport is totally omitted, this is neither fair, good, or right in any case for any reason.
See below…
Asked directly if Microsoft censors satellite images, a spokesperson declined to offer specifics: “Microsoft follows a complex process for blurring that aligns with legal requirements for various countries,” a spokesperson tells BuzzFeed. “Based on where, when, and how we acquire imagery the blurring procedure occurs at different points in our production pipelines. Due to various agreements with governments, Microsoft cannot comment on the specifics of blurring processes, algorithms, or procedures.”
Google does not admit to censoring images but we have all seen instances.
But there’s a serious caveat: “Google Earth is built from a broad range of imagery providers, including public, government, commercial and private sector sources – some of which may blur images before they supply it to us.”
I don’t have one, but still I don’t jump to wild speculations just because I didn’t come up with any reasonable one.
A totally different story than we’re talking about, don’t you think?
Read again, I said it’s a fair point not to handcraft airports if there is payware coming up but instead add some airports that are unlikely to be offered as payware.
@aracines I wouldn’t count on it. Especially if it’s blurred out as @AwesomeBlack533 hypothesized in his post above. Your only choice for that particular airport may well be an addon, whether it’s freeware or payware. (I just checked, and there are no freeware versions of it on flightsim.to).
Those places get blurred out for a reason, usually at the request/demand of the Government of the Country where the airport is located. That generally won’t stop 3rd parties from making them, but it does stop MS/Asobo. It sucks, but your beef is with that particular Government, not MS, Asobo, or anyone else. And I doubt they’re going to care about you wanting it in the sim enough to change their laws.
But hey, I could be wrong about that!
MPTO currently isn’t blurred on Bing maps, but it might have been when the data was analyzed by Blackshark, hard to tell.
So how may airports are in the world, how many airports are in the sim and how many are missing? Then we can make a comment…
https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/missing-airports-sent-to-zendesk/165814/2
As you can see, the list is extensive.
@Coppersens Good! Then I expect we’ll see it sooner or later in an update, especially if it’s in a part of the world covered by an upcoming WU. Nonetheless, it’s still a good idea for the OP, and anyone else who cares about that airport, to make a bug report to the Zendesk, just in case.
@willisxdc What list? I mean, I think I know what you’re talking about, but I don’t know where said list is.
Just check the thread he linked. There are multiple lists in there.
click the link in my post…
But even if MPTO were blurred on BING maps or any satellite image there is still no excuse for this major airport to STILL be missing - it has been reported OVER AND OVER!
Too much misunderstanding and/or misrepresenting of facts & history, making poor excuses, and eventually common sense gets eliminated. Then people settle for: ‘the MSFS team does not need to include it and we just have to wait for a 3rd party’ 
…this is not right or good, its actually very wrong and very bad… 
excuses .
I still have not heard a valid reason for MPTO airport to be totally missing in MSFS…an uncorrected and terrible blunder.
First, the false claim was made “all” airports would be included. I assumed it was all major ones at least.
Then it was claimed subsequent world updates would add the reported missing airports. Also here, I assumed the large missing airports would be addressed. Obviously, this was not true as the Benelux update came and went, EHEH was still very much missing.
The idea that Bing maps is the only source of airport information seems odd. Runways, taxiways, … all that information is available.
Sure, many that are missing are military or mixed military/civilian. On the other hand, all information is readily available, there are no state secrets.
I’m sure this applies to MPTO as much as it does for EHEH.
I would really like to know the true reason for so many missing large airports, while some tiny ones are quite detailed.